Oh, what a glorious wedding we have for you all today! Louise and Stephen were married this past May in the Parade Tower of Kilkenny Castle, surrounded by stunning DIY touches and their family and friends. The torrential rain didn’t dampen their spirits and Katie Kavanagh captured one heck of a pretty do!
Louise and Stephen first met by chance when Louise was placed at Stephens workplace during her college internship in 2007. It wasn’t until after Louise returned to college that Stephen worked up the courage to ask her out and they had their first date in the summer of 2008.
Two years later when Louise was on a three month work project in San Diego, California Stephen visited for a holiday, as Louise explained it was quite a memorable time!
“One day near the end of the trip, we were on Coronado Beach in San Diego surrounded by golden sand, palm trees and dolphins swimming. Stephen seized the opportunity and dropped down on one knee to surprise me with a proposal. I was completely shocked, didn’t know what to say at first but soon accepted! I wasn’t expecting it all so I was completely stunned! We were only together two years and marriage hadn’t even entered my mind. I took me a while but after it sunk in I said yes! Those few moments felt like an eternity to Stephen. We still joke about how I left him in suspense. Next on the agenda was to buy a ring in San Fransisco before heading home. That day on the beach, we talked about when we would tie the knot. We agreed that it wouldn’t be next year, or the year after that and 2014 had a nice ring to it.”
The following year in March, Louise and Stephen started to look around venues they instantly fell in love with the majestic ballroom at the Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny.
“We looked long and hard for somewhere special for our ceremony. That part of the day meant the most to us and so it was the most difficult decision. As soon as we walked in to the Parade Tower of the castle we got butterflies and knew it was the place. Stephen loves history and it seemed like the perfect place to marry a Kilkenny girl,” said Louise.
The couples wedding date was set for 23rd May, 2014, and although they didn’t set a specific theme their tastes sound led them to a classic style wedding with vintage touches.
“Because the ceremony was in the castle, we kept the theme very classic and a bit vintage. We had scrolls for our order of service. The colours we used were soft pastels. The boys wore top hats, tails and canes and the girls wore hair and makeup with the vintage theme in mind. We didn’t intend to stick to any particular theme, we just went with what we liked. We wanted a ceremony that was personalised down to every detail, with our favourite songs and poems. We had a string trio who played beautiful versions or our favourite tunes. Stephen wrote a poem when we started dating and Stephen’s sister read it during the ceremony. Everyone helped out the day before the wedding to decorate the castle. We had a florist but my mum is so creative and added some amazing decorations and extra floral arrangements. We had been collecting bits and pieces for the whole year before and it was just a case of getting it all set up. The place looked amazing when we were done,” explained Louise.
Louise wore a glorious Ian Stuart floaty gown from Tiadora in Kilkenny;
“All the Ian Stuart gowns were beautiful but Midsummer won out, I really felt like a princess in it. Bonzie Crotty of Willow and Wild designed my headpiece. All her pieces are one of a kind; she’s such an artist. Bonzie also made the collars for the bridesmaids and my mum’s fascinator!”
“The day was perfect! But…. we had planned a summer wedding with the beautiful castle gardens in mind for the picture and it rained all day long! It didn’t matter as the interior of the castle is also stunning but it’s typical Ireland. Katie, our photographer was incredible all day. She was so much fun to have around and her pictures were amazing. It’s so important to choose a photographer that will put you at ease, after all you’ll be spending the entire day with them!
Stephen loves vintage Volkswagon Beetles. He has his own but we knew it wasn’t going to be running in time for the wedding, so I secretly worked with Stephen’s brother to rent the cream Beetle especially for the day. Stephen was so delighted and surprised!” said Louise.
Louise & Stephens Wedding Suppliers
Ceremony: The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle.
Reception: Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny.
Photographer: Katie Kav Photography.
Second shooter: Kevin Curry.
Wedding dress: Tiadora Bridal, Kilkenny.
Bridesmaids dresses: Mango.
Brides hair piece & bridesmaids collars: Bonzie Crotty, Willow and Wild.
Hair: The Powder Room Girls.
Makeup: Laura Kay Make-Up.
Groomswear: Fitzgeralds Menswear, Waterford.
Wedding cake: Catherine Kent, The Cake Lady.
Flowers: Lamber de Bie and Louise’s mum.
VW Beetle: LazyDays.
Videographer: Colin Shanahan, Digicol Photography.
Entertainment: The Good Guys.
